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No. Just no. For ice dancing in the Olympics this year, the theme was folk dancing. Who knew it would turn into this?
Despite the controversy Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin created when Aboriginal leaders found out the Russian ice dancers’ routine was an unbelievably offensive interpretation of Aborginal dance, all they did was “tone down” their costume (meaning not use as much face paint) but the dance was not altered. They came in third place on Sunday’s competition. Via Yahoo! Sports:

The dance they did was more likely their interpretation of Aboriginal dance, though they claimed to have done research. Watching the dance Sunday night, one can understand why Aboriginal leaders were offended.At times, Shabalin led Domnina around by her ponytail. They mugged, stuck out their tongues and mimicked the hand over mouth gesture that was once associated with American Indians.

You can see the routine here, it’s pretty difficult to watch. Bev Manton, chairwoman of the New South Wales state Aboriginal Land Council said:

“I am offended by the performance and so are our other councillors…Aboriginal people for very good reason are sensitive about their cultural objects and icons being co-opted by non-Aboriginal people – whether they are from Australia or Russia. It’s important for people to tread carefully and respectfully when they are depicting somebody else’s culture, and I don’t think this performance does.”

She also notes the fact that their dark body suits put them on a “very slippery slope” to begin with. Sol Bellear of the Council adds, “We see it as stealing aboriginal culture, and it is yet another example of the aboriginal people of Australia being exploited.”Via Pam.

This week we were thrilled to speak with the incredible MMA fighter and advocate Fallon Fox!

Fallon Fox began training as a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter in 2008, went pro, and is now the first openly trans athlete in her sport. She has spoken out about the importance of supporting trans athletes on and off the field. And she herself continues to overcome prejudice and ignorance, especially through her awesome 5:1:0 record.

And now without further ado, the Feministing Five with Fallon Fox!

Suzanna Bobadilla: Thank you so much for speaking with us today. To get started, could you first describe how you started competing in women’s Mixed Martial Arts fighting?

Fallon Fox: I was in an average workout gym, and there ...

This week we were thrilled to speak with the incredible MMA fighter and advocate Fallon Fox!

Fallon Fox began training as a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter in 2008, went pro, and is now the first openly ...

In the foreword to her debut novel The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison describes how she came to write her classic story of an isolated black girl’s disavowal of blackness. She points to the “reclamation of racial beauty” that was so central to the cultural activism of the 1960s as her motivating context, but she notes that this girl’s story is “a unique situation, not a representative one:” in order to explore more dramatically the consequences of internalized racism and sexism, Morrison deprives her protagonist of a supportive family from which she might draw strength. Morrison’s Pecola is vulnerable, bereft, utterly exposed, and suffers tragically for it.

In the foreword to her debut novel The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison describes how she came to write her classic story of an isolated black girl’s disavowal of blackness. She points to the “reclamation of racial ...

Ed. note: This post is cross-published from Ravishly, where it is part of a conversation series on police violence against women of color.

The last year has seen an uprising in the resistance to police violence the likes of which we haven’t seen since the murder of Amadou Diallo in 1999. But even in this climate of elevated attention to the issue, we rarely hear about the ways police violence affects women. Or its frequency.

The avenues for legal and economically viable employment for women of color, including queer and trans women of color, immigrant women, and especially those who are all or several at the same time, are extremely limited. Whether we’re talking about a lack of ...

Ed. note: This post is cross-published from Ravishly, where it is part of a conversation series on police violence against women of color.

The last year has seen an uprising in the resistance to police violence the ...